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Traded to Erie (OHL) by Windsor (OHL) for Jason Ward, January 6, 1998.Traded to Phoenix by New Jersey with New Jersey's 2nd round choice (later traded to Edmonton Edmonton selected Geoff Paukovich) in 2004 Entry Draft for Jan Hrdina, March 5, 2004. Signed as a free agent by Danbury (UHL), February 10, 2005. Traded to Columbus by Phoenix with Cale Hulse and Jason Chimera for Geoff Sanderson and Tim Jackman, October 8, 2005. Signed as a free agent by New Jersey, July 10, 2006. Signed as a free agent by Pittsburgh, July 1, 2009. Signed as a free agent by NY Rangers, July 1, 2011. Traded to Minnesota by NY Rangers for Darroll Powe and Nick Palmieri, February 4, 2013. Missed majority of 2013-14 due to knee surgery, October 1, 2013 and as a healthy reserve.

PLAYER BIO

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS2010-11: Established a career-high in assists (eight) and tied his career-high in games played (81). ... Won the Baz Bastien Memorial "Good Guy" Award and the Edward J. DeBartolo "Community Service" Award. ... Ranked third on Pittsburgh and second among team forwards in hits (181), and second in penalty minutes (124) and fighting majors (12). ... Led the team with a plus-4 rating in the playoffs. 2009-10: Established a career-high in goals (13), points (19), games played (81), shots on goal (87), and plus-minus rating (plus-five). ... Led Pittsburgh in penalty minutes (120) and ranked second on the team with a career-high, 198 hits, marking the fourth consecutive season he eclipsed the 100-hit plateau. ... Skated in his 400th career NHL game on Mar. 6 at Dallas. ... Notched his first career hat trick on Nov. 30 vs. the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. ... Tied for fourth on the team in playoff hits (32). 2008-09: Established a career-high in penalty minutes (136). 2007-08: Skated in his 200th career NHL game on Oct. 6 at Florida. 2006-07: Notched the game-winning goal on Jan. 7 at Montreal, his fifth career game-winner. 2005-06: Missed 12 games from Jan. 16 to Mar. 2 due to a broken foot. ... Skated in his 100th career NHL game on Dec. 9 at Atlanta. 2003-04: Split the season between New Jersey and Phoenix. ... Missed nine games from March 10 to March 26 due to shoulder injury. 2002-03: Registered two goals while making his season debut on Jan. 13 vs. Florida. ... Notched four points in four playoff contests (one goal, three assists). ... Tallied the Stanley Cup-clinching goal, his first career playoff tally, added two assists for three points, and posted a plus-three rating in a 3-0 victory in Game Seven on June 9 vs. Anaheim. He is the only player in NHL history whose first career playoff goal was the Stanley Cup-clincher. His three playoff assists led all NHL rookies.

MINOR-LEAGUE CAREER2005-06: Skated in three games for Syracuse (AHL), recording one goal and two assists for three points. 2004-05: Collected 10 points (five goals and five assists) and 30 penalty minutes in 14 games with Danbury (UHL). 2002-03: Skated in 47 games with Albany (AHL), recording eight goals and 11 assists for 19 points, along with 74 penalty minutes. 2001-02: Established a career-high in games played (78). ... Ranked fifth on the team in points (30) with 13 goals and 17 assists. 2000-01: Skated in 71 games in his AHL debut season with 10 goals and 10 assists for 20 points.

JUNIOR CAREER
Played three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League with Windsor and Erie, collecting 127 point (70 goal, 57 assists) and 353 penalty minutes in 185 games. 1999-00: Ranked second on Otters (OHL) in goals (32), fourth in points (53), second in penalty minutes (134) and third in plus-minus (plus-4). 1998-99: Skated in 63 games with a career-high of 22 goals and 25 assists for 47 points. ... Ranked fifth on the team with 102 penalty minutes and tied for second in playoff assists (2). ... Led the team in playoff penalty minutes (25). 1997-98: Split the season between Erie and Windsor. ... Tallied four points in back-to-back games with Windsor on Nov. 13 vs. London and Nov.14 vs. London (two goals and two assists). ... Tallied a season-high, seven-game point streak from Dec. 17 at Plymouth to Jan. 1 at Owen Sound, registering 13 points (seven goals and six assists) over the span.

BACKGROUND
Is a big sports fan and lists basketball and baseball as his favorite sports to watch. ... If he wasn’t a hockey player, he would want to play professional baseball. ... Is a fan of country music. ... Lists "Big Brother" as his favorite television show. ... Favorite candy is Mally's Buckeye Chocolates. ... Married: wife, Christi; children, Maddie, Mason and Max.

CAREER TRANSACTIONSJune 27, 1998 -- N.Y. Islanders first choice, No. 9 overall, in the first round of the 1998 NHL Entry Draft. June 24, 2000 -- Re-entered draft as an unsigned former draft pick and was New Jersey's seventh choice, No. 76 overall, in the third round of 2000 NHL Entry Draft. March 5, 2004 -- Traded by New Jersey with 2004 second-round pick to Phoenix in exchange for Jan Hrdina. Oct. 8, 2005 -- Traded by Phoenix with Cale Hulse and Jason Chimera to Columbus in exchange for Geoff Sanderson and Tim Jackman. July 10, 2006 -- Signed with New Jersey as an unrestricted free agent. July 1, 2009 -- Signed with Pittsburgh as an unrestricted free agent. July 1, 2011 -- Signed with Rangers as an unrestricted free agent.

NHL and the NHL Shield are registered trademarks and NHL Mobile name and logo, NHL GameCenter and Unlimited NHL are trademarks of the National Hockey League. NHL and NHL team marks are the property of the NHL and its teams.